Charles Maria Weber and Chief Jose Jesus
Part 2: Choosing a Place to Settle
Review
In the previous section, we learned about how Charles Maria Weber, an immigrant to North America from Germany, traveled to San Jose and was eventually given land in California’s Central Valley, near present day Stockton and French Camp. After becoming an ally of the local Yokuts and Miwok chief Jose Jesus, Weber was able to settle his ranch in 1847.
Who Was Jose Jesus?
Jose Jesus was a Yokuts man from the village of Siakumne, pronounced See ah come ninear, modern-day French Camp and Lathrop. Known as a fierce warrior, he had helped fight a against the Mexican government in 1828. By the time he met Charles Weber in 1843, Jose Jesus would be the leader of all the Yokuts and Miwok people in modern-day Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties. Having fought with Mexican and American settlers before, Jose Jesus knew that it would be wise to be allies with Charles Weber. After the two met, Weber would come to rely on Jose Jesus for help in settling the town of Stockton.
The Friendship between Charles Weber and Jose Jesus
Even though Charles Weber was given some of Jose Jesus’s land without his agreement, the two became close friends and worked together in the 1840s. Jose Jesus helped Weber with important decisions about where he should live and start a town on his ranch. Most importantly, Jose Jesus showed Weber a place near the San Joaquin River that was safe for boats to get to, and was also close to good land for growing crops. With Jose Jesus’s help, Weber would start a town there, which he first called Tuleburg, and then finally called Stockton.
Living in the Delta
The land where the Yokuts and Miwok lived, and where Weber’s “el Rancho del Campo de los Franceses” was, is part of the California A delta is a place where rivers branch out and transport soils onto the surrounding land, usually before entering the sea. The California Delta is formed by the Sacramento, Cosumnes, Mokelumne, Calaveras, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin rivers coming together to the West of the town of Stockton. Soils in deltas are often very good for growing plants, and the California Delta is known for being a very good place for farming.
Delta Map
Can you find where your town or city is?
The region with the yellow border around it shows the part of California that most people know as the Delta Valley.
1849 vs. 2020
Questions to Think About
On the sliding photo above, you can see an old map of the area that became Stockton on the left, and a map of same land from the year 2000.
- What changed? What stayed the same?
- Can you point out any important details about the land by the map that would make this a good place to start a town?